MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 3.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,305 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in MetLife were worth $5,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of MetLife by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 11,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MetLife by 21.4% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 39,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,930 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MetLife in the second quarter valued at $2,818,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MetLife during the 2nd quarter worth $1,116,000. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MetLife by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 65,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,556,000 after buying an additional 4,280 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.81% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Trading Down 0.3 %

MetLife stock opened at $80.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.04. MetLife, Inc. has a 1 year low of $57.91 and a 1 year high of $81.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.16.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.13 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $17.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.57 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 21.41% and a net margin of 4.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MetLife Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.545 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 6th. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. MetLife’s payout ratio is presently 74.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MET shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on MetLife from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Bank of America lowered their target price on MetLife from $99.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays initiated coverage on MetLife in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $91.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.54.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.